BATTLE OF BRITAIN
Britain stood alone against Nazi aggression after the fall of France, and Hitler put a plan in place for Britain code named Operation Sealion. Before Hitler could launch his attack the Luftwaffe would have to control the skies over the English Channel by beating the Royal Air Force (RAF) (Operation Eagle). In August 1940, the Battle of Britain began. Even though the Luftwaffe had more planes the RAF had an advantage-radar. This meant the RAF could track and attack German planes before hey reached the mainland. The RAF also had attacking planes such as Spitfire and Hurricane, which matched the best of German planes. Hitler failed to beat Britain so he decided to concentrate on on bombing British cities like London. This lasted until mid 1941 and is called the Blitz.

DEFEAT OF FRANCE
In May 1940, Hitler launched a major attack against Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland and France. He simply bypassed the Magniot Line and attacked France through the Ardennes in Belgium. This took Britain and France by surprise and the English forces in France had to retreat quickly to the English Channel. Operation Dynamo was put in place by Churchill when the British Expeditionary Force was trapped at the coastline by the advancing German Army. Boats sailed to Dunkirk from Britain and 338,000 soldiers were rescued. German troops entered France on June 13th and a week later the French surrender. France was divided into the North-East (German occupied) and the South into a puppet state called Vichy France. Some French joined the French Resistance while some called collaborators worked with the Germans out of fear of facism.

OPERATION BARBAROSSA
In June 1941, Hitler broke the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact by attacking the Soviet Union.He did this so he could gain vital oil supplies which he needed for future attacks which the USSR had plenty of. He wanted lebensraum for his German master race and he hated communism. At first it was a success but the Soviet military commanders were very clever. Marshall Zhukov told his forces to retreat til the onset of the severe winter. As the Red Army retreated they began to use scorched earth tactics. They destroyed everything that could of been of use to the Germans. They lifted railway lines, destroyed roads and burn coal fields. This made it more difficult to get vital supplies to the to its frontline.